God Speaks
If you believe that Jesus is the Christ—that he is God’s Son and your Savior—then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. 2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children—your brothers and sisters in the Lord—by how much you love and obey God. 3 Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all; 4 for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
5 But who could possibly fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God? 6-8 And we know he is, because God said so with a voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized, and again as he was facing death—yes, not only at his baptism but also as he faced death.* And the Holy Spirit, forever truthful, says it too. So we have these three witnesses: the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism, and the voice before he died.* And they all say the same thing: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.* 9 We believe men who witness in our courts, and so surely we can believe whatever God declares. And God declares that Jesus is his Son. 10 All who believe this know in their hearts that it is true. If anyone doesn’t believe this, he is actually calling God a liar because he doesn’t believe what God has said about his Son.
11 And what is it that God has said? That he has given us eternal life and that this life is in his Son. 12 So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son, does not have life.
13 I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are sure of this, that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. 15 And if we really know he is listening when we talk to him and make our requests, then we can be sure that he will answer us.
16 If you see a Christian sinning in a way that does not end in death, you should ask God to forgive him, and God will give him life unless he has sinned that one fatal sin. But there is that one sin which ends in death, and if he has done that, there is no use praying for him. 17 Every wrong is a sin, of course. I’m not talking about these ordinary sins; I am speaking of that one that ends in death.
18 No one who has become part of God’s family makes a practice of sinning, for Christ, God’s Son, holds him securely, and the devil cannot get his hands on him. 19 We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control. 20 And we know that Christ, God’s Son, has come to help us understand and find the true God. And now we are in God because we are in Jesus Christ his Son, who is the only true God; and he is eternal Life.
21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Amen.
Sincerely, John
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. Do you really believe and live as if that is true? Then You are a child of God. If you love Jesus, you will love Father God and love His other children as well. You will demonstrate your love for God by obeying His commandments, especially those that relate to how you treat other people. As you keep on obeying, He will make it easier to keep on doing it. Every child of God will defeat their three enemies: 1. the world: the way those who don’t know and love God think and act; 2. the flesh: the way they themselves used to think and act before they belonged to Him; and 3. the devil: Satan and all of his forces who rebelled against God early on and have continued to do so throughout the ages as well as those human beings who, conscious or unconsciously, have cooperated with him. Just as the testimony of three witnesses is a strong defense in human courts, the testimony of the Spirit, the water, and the blood supply a strong defense that Jesus of Nazareth is God the Son. Whoever says He is not is calling God a liar. Whenever a person has Jesus Christ indwelling them, they have eternal life. They can know that they have eternal life and God listens to them. He will grant them whatever they ask for that pleases Him. They will avoid doing, saying, or thinking things that are wrong (sin), especially anything that would lead to death. Because Jesus–God’s Son–holds them securely, they can know that the evil one, who controls the world around them, cannot do them ultimate harm. They have an ongoing, interactive relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They will seek to avoid anything that might try to take God’s place in the control center of their lives.
Prayer: Dear God who is the Father of Jesus who is the Christ, thank You that because I truly believe this, I have been made Your child as well. I do love Jesus, and I love You, Father God. Please help me to demonstrate that by obeying Your commandments and loving Your other children as Jesus did. You promise that the more I obey, the easier it will be to do so. Because Jesus has conquered the world, the flesh, and the devil, I can and will overcome them, too. I affirm that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Also, since I have Jesus Christ indwelling me, I have eternal life. Now I know that I have eternal life and God listens to me. He will grant me whatever I ask for that pleases Him. Please help me to avoid doing, saying, or thinking things that are wrong (sin), especially anything that would lead to death. Because Jesus–God’s Son–holds me securely, I know that the evil one, who controls the world around me, can’t do me ultimate harm. I now have an ongoing, interactive relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Please help me to avoid anything that might try to take Your place in the control center of my life. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will spend significant time today thanking God that Jesus is God’s Son and that, by truly believing this, I am His child, too.
- I will read and study the following passages which give the testimony of God confirming Jesus as His beloved and obedient Son: Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 16:16-17; Matthew 17:5; Matthew 27:54; Mark 1:9-11; Mark 3:11; Mark 15:39 (even demons and a Roman centurion acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God)
- I will pray with confidence because I know God is listening and He will grant whatever pleases Him.
- I will search and destroy anything that may be trying to take God’s place in the control center of my life.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.